Who is this "Johanna" person?

[firefly67]

Gorgeous stuff, Darrell! I'd like to learn to make mocs--too bad you are in LA! Do you know James Gottselig of Bald Mountain? I've been trying to get hold of him but have no contact info and Bald Mtn. isn't answering my emails--I know Miles is retiring & they are not making mocs anymore. I'm just getting into leather work after years of being around it & wanting to do it. Also working in soft leather & buffalo is my favorite! Bags & maybe some vests.

[Pip]

Thanks Johanna, I love this site, thanks. It is always nice to see/hear a human being who is willing to share knowledge and intimit times especially when life has thrown so much in their direction. I have tried to write another sentence but nothing seems to reach the mark. So I weakly say "you are a star"

[oldgringo]

Johanna:

What a moving story. Thank you so much for this forum and God Bless You!

[SCOUTER]

Johanna,

Thankyou so much for sharing that amazing story! It was like a song from your heart. Beautiful. Congratulations on your triumph. =)

[rgerbitz]

Thank you Johanna you and this forum have given me quite a bit in the short time I have been here.

[CharlieR]

Johanna--I have been kind of hanging around a bit, asking a question or two here and there. But this seems to be one of the friendliest forums going. Thank you--for your work here, for your encouragement and your tenacity in life.

[Suze]

As Johanna's cousin, I can say there is a lot more to her story than she posted - but I will leave it up to her to tell what she wants.

It had to be a scary move from Atlanta to Ohio with one baby and another "on the way" I don't know if I would have had the corage to do it.

The legal nighmares that she when through when John died to get support for his children. She joked about getting that "damed plane back from China" next

We all cheered her on when she and Wade "found" each other (and yes he can be a sort of scarry looking man when he wants to) But I know that he will move the heaven for her if she want him to.

They have BOTH helped me no end in clearing out the house in the "Grand Sort" and have taken at least 3 pickup loads "away" (I know some of the stuff has just "moved locations" We all get the "packrat gene" natural like)

I know she has found her spot in the world with this forum - Johanna is a good "organizer"

(I could be too, if only I could get the "throw away gene" to kick in)

OH and don't let her kid you - I have seen work she does and it is Good

Luv ya Cuz

[ElConquistador]

Hi Johanna, I'm new at this forum. I just wanted to tell you that I hove your story. Thanks for keeping this site open for all of the leather workers who are seeking for help. Merry Christmas and keep up the good work, Alex

[Johanna]

Well, it's been a year since the big crash...remember that? And lookie here, the old posts are starting to come back (Thank you Kate!) We started from scratch a year ago after the server died, but we survived and thrived because of our loyal members. As I write this we have almost 4100 members. About 2500 unique visitors are here are the site every day, not counting the search engines which simply live here, rather than trying to keep up. You folks have made almost 60,000 posts in the last year, and nothing shows any sign of slowing down. This has been fun!

I read through this thread blushing. Don't thank me for LW- the real credits are below:

I would like to thank the team behind the scenes- everyone in green and brown for keeping things running smoothly. Thank you to the blue folks who chip into the kitty with money so that we can keep the lights on and the coffee fresh. (If you want to feel good about helping your favorite leatherworking web site pay the bills, click "My Controls" and "purchase subscription" or go the main page and donate any amount you want.) I would like to thank my husband, Wade, for his incredible patience and understanding why this board means so much to me. I would like to especially thank ClayB and Clay M (Bert & Ernie), Art, Bruce, Kate, Holly, Denise, & that stinking monkey- this wouldn't be possible without all of you. I owe Kate for keeping me relatively calm during the three days the board was down and I was losing my mind. Because Kate does back ups, too, I can sleep at night. I would like to thank the saddlemakers for breaking down the wall of silence and teaching their valuable skills. A tip of the hat to all the artists and specialists here who answer questions and don't mind sharing. I appreciate the way you newbies manage to keep the blood off the carpet and the questions coming. All you other guys that are just here for the doughnuts and coffee, well, it wouldn't be the same without you. I would like to thank God and the Internet for bringing so many fine folks together for conversation and friendship. We've got a great bunch of people here, and you folks truly are the best.

Johanna

[TwinOaks]

[jbird]

I would like to say a hearty amen and big thanks to every one behind the curtain.

Josh

[TexasJack]

Cool story!

I'm curious: What brought on the lengthy posts? I hope you don't think you're under-appreciated around here! Your little smiling avatar is connected with all things right about this web site.

Your story is a reminder that sometimes things work out the way they are supposed to, despite all the things we think are going to happen.

[MikePatterson]

Thanks Jo you are a special person for bring this bunch togeather.

Mike

[RonaldSe]

I would also like to add my thanks to you, Johanna!! You and everyone responsible for this forum have

done a wonderful job. Like my dad used to tell me " if you are going to do something do it right" well YOU

have done it right!!!! I look more than post, but really enjoy the friendly members and their willingness

to share their knowledge and beautiful work.

Thanks again and hats off to you, Johanna , for a job well done!!!

George

[Go2Tex]

May I also chime in and say thanks. I really enjoy this forum. Don't know what I'd do without it now. Such a fantastic resource and knowledge base. Thanks for keeping it running.

[Rawhide]

Wow Johanna, I've got a tear welling up. This is my first reading of this post. To come through so much and never stop acheiving is amazing. I thank you and all that aide this forum. I think your vision of what it was to be has come to be and much more.

And to think you're allergic to leather is another amazing feat, that you seem to still overcome. I'm simply humbled.

You deserve to be the Queen of the crop!!

[Johanna]

Marlon-The more I'm around leather, the better my immune system tolerates it, and I usually only get hives. I can't wear raw veggie tanned leather against my skin though...Let's say I'm "sensitive" to leather.

We're putting the old posts back in one-at-a-time, and this is the only thread that got a bump. Did any of you "old timers" who posted in the original thread (2006-07) get an email notification? I'd like to know if that is working or not for the older posts. Let me know if you got a notification for this thread, and whether you posted or were subscribed to it.

Texas Jack- If you look at the date on this thread, it was started about two weeks after the board was originally set up in the summer of '06. We had a server fail about a year ago, and though we had back ups of the threads, we weren't able to make them show because we were missing some key parts of the table structure in the database. (Failing servers don't make good back ups!) Kate, who is a gifted leather artist, is also a geek, and she wrote some code I don't understand and figured out how to fix what was broken. I didn't mean to sound like I was tooting my own horn, but with all the "thank yous" in that thread, I wanted to point out that it's a lot more people than me making LW possible!

For those of you who wanted another update (one of you said my life would make a good soap opera- you don't know the half of it! )

Jane is 10 and in the 5th grade now, and Jack is about to be 9 and in the 3rd Grade. Jane knows more about my cell phone than I do, and Jack likes Carlos Santana and ZZ Top and wants to play the guitar like them. I am relieved that he doesn't care much for the pop music of his generation, because Jane makes me listen to enough of it. Both of them would like to do more in the leather shop than I will let them, but taking the kids into the shop has saved my sanity more than once. Busy hands aren't getting into trouble! Jane likes to braid and bead, Jack likes to stamp and generally hit things with my hammers and mallets. Wade's son, Zack, 14, shows an actual talent for leatherwork and I probably should encourage him more, but then he might get bitten by the leatherworking bug and develop a tool addiction, and it would be all my fault. We call Wade's daughter "Marilyn" after the girl on the Munsters who was so normal on Mockingbird Drive. Seriously- the one dog has two different colored eyes, the cat has deformed toes and the other dog should probably be on Prozac because he won't get off the couch and we think he's depressed. Everybody here has issues, including me. Life is good here in Ohio, and I'd be okay if there were just more hours in the day to get things done. I make websites and mop the floors. I can't complain, but as one saddlemaker told me, "Kids are quite a price to pay for a few hours of nekkid fun, huh?" I can't imagine life without them, but they keep me hopping. They are 14, 12, 10 & 9 and all you parents are nodding your heads right now. You've been here. Someday maybe they will all grow up and move out, and we will have the house to ourselves, and find things where we last set them down again, but that is just a dream right now, and I can't allow myself to get too caught up in the fantasy. I'm just happy when there is enough hot water for my bath. In my spare time, I do different things for the local historical associations, garden and do my flowerbeds, and take the kids to Pennsylvania whenever I get homesick for the hills. I do a couple of websites for guilds even though extracting content from them is like pulling teeth. The newest guild is in Cincinnati, and they are planning to apply for IFoLG membership in Indianapolis this fall. If you live anywhere in the tri state area (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio) call the Tandy store and ask for Micheal. He's putting together another dynamic group of people who love the leather. It gets in the blood.

Now, everyone get back to work! You aren't making any money surfing the forum when you could be at the bench!

Johanna

[hidepounder]

As a newcomer, this is the first time I've seen this thread! You had told me some of your background, Johanna, but I have really enjoyed reading the "rest of the story". It's neat to have some insight into the person who is responsible for creating, what I believe is, one of the most important and enjoyable places a leather enthusiast can be!

Thanks to you and your team, I have had the privelege of meeting some of the nicest people I know...pro's and novices alike. Every day I log on and read the new posts and learn something valuable that I didn't know...happened again today...and I've gained a new appreciation for other types of leather work presented on this site, I otherwise, would never have been exposed to, if this forum didn't exist.

I never imagined I would ever join a chat room! Now I can't wait to log on in the evening and talk with the "gang", from all over the world...Austrailia, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, UK, all over the US and in all walks of life...geeks, cops, cowboys, bikers, soldiers and everyone in between...all gibbering away like we've known each other for years....bound only by the common thread which is this forum...wow!

As your story unfolds, so does ours at LW...that's pretty cool when I think about it. So, I too, would like to thank you and your "crew", Johanna, for all the hard work and the endless hours all of you put in, to make LW what it is now...and what I'm confident it will be, in the many years to come.

Beat Wishes,

Bob

[JAM]

Johanna, add my thanks to this long list. I've made new friends around the country and around the world, and learned more than I ever thought could be found in an internet forum. And this community is special - so familial! Even the flames are entertaining!

"They don't pay you for what you do, they pay you for what you know." Plus, he had the tools and the expertise.

I needed to read this! Another gem from Leatherworker.net!

Thanks,

Julia

[King's X]

Ms. Johanna "Queen of the Crop"

to infinity and beyond!!

Happy New Years greeting from Round Rock, Texas

[TexasJack]

... They are 14, 12, 10 & 9 and all you parents are nodding your heads right now. You've been here. ....

Ouch! That's about the age where they cease to have "parents" and you become "those old people I live with".

My best wishes to you!

[Wyvern]

What an amazing story and life! Thank you so very much for starting this forum. It's an amazing place to hang out.

[CygnusX1]

(...Sure RAdio Shack answears the phone " you got questions , we've got answers" but they don't know butt itch about leather...So how can the say that !!!!??

ROTFL and CHOKEING! GREAT LINE!

They don't know anything about electronics either!

[Sasquatch]

I'm new here and don't post much but it makes me smile every time I log on to see all the new posts. There are stories that teach and those that inspire and loads that make you laugh. Thank you and your staff for what you have created for all of us, this is an amazing place. No need to be modest you have created a great thing. THANK YOU!

Michael.

[rivermountainman]

Thanks for sharing your story Johanna...

I too can see me spending alot of time around here, although I doubt I will be offering too much usefull information any time soon, more than likely just absorbing as much as I can being afreshman to leatherwork really....

Its a real treasure that forums such as thus exist, and just like you have stated, it's a real treat that so many are willing to share and help....

I take me hat of too ya good lady..

All the best

Matt

aka Rivermountainman